2019-2020 NBA Finalists Awards are Out: Who's In?

We are now approaching the tail end of the 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season and with it, comes the list of the finalists for the NBA awards. What makes the list interesting is that some of the names that are included are actually that ones that Benny Benitez, Jinno Rufino, and Jude Turcuato discussed at length in last week's episode of "Bull By the Horn" by Benny Benitez.

First up are the finalists for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award: the reigning MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo of the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, LeBron James of the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers who just lost their third straight game earlier today, and James Harden of the Houston Rockets who also beat the Lakers. If we are to base the MVP race on the numbers, it would seem that Antetokounmpo and Harden are likely to finish in the top two as the Greek Freak is averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds per game while Harden is the leading scorer this season with 34 points per game while making four threes per game on the average. Then again, we cannot disregard what LeBron James has done in his 17th year in the NBA as while his scoring may have taken a backseat, he is averaging a league-leading 10 assists per game. And, as Turcuato pointed out last week, there's a possibility that the voters will vote for LeBron James because of the sentiment that yes, Antetokounmpo and Harden can win more MVP plums in the next five years or so but for 35-ear old LeBron James, this may be his final shot at winning his fifth MVP award on top of what could be his fourth NBA championship. 

While this season's race for the Rookie of the Year award has been a lock between Ja Morant and Zion Williamson, they aren't the only ones in contention for the recognition of being the league's best freshman. The third finalist is Kendrick Nunn of the Miami Heat and unlike Morant and Williamson who aren't assured of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Nunn's team has already clinched a playoff spot in the East, currently running as the fourth seed While many pundits are already saying that Ja Morant is already a lock for the Rookie of the Year owing to the fact that last year's top pick in Williamson didn't play enough games this year, there's a slight chance that Nunn could actually snatch the award. Slight.

The finalists for the Most Improved Player award are Bam Adebayo of the Heat, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, and Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans. Of three, Doncic holds a better chance at winning the award as his team is set to return to the postseason with Doncic leading the way by averaging 29 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists this season. That stat line was a big leap from the 26-7-6 stat line that he had last year. 

The final battle for the Sixth Man of the Year award will between two Los Angeles Clippers in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, and Dennis Schroder of the Oklahoma City Thunder while the three finalists for this season's Defensive Player of the Year are Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis of the Lakers, and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz. Interestingly, the three have been nominated for the said award for the second time already with Gobert winning it all last year. 

Last but not the least, the finalists for the Coach of the Year award: Mike Budenholzer of the Bucks, Billy Donovan of the Thunder, and Nick Nurse of the defending champions, the Toronto Raptors. This too was discussed in last week's run of "Bull By the Horn" Benny Benitez as Benitez, Rufino and Turcuato had different reasons why they chose their respective prediction as to who will win the Coach of the Year plum. For one, the Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to free agency last, and yet, Toronto owns the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and that can be credited to the way Nick Nurse has managed the team as a coach. In the case of Donovan and the Thunder, nobody expected to be a playoff-bound team and yet, they are a top-five team in a heavily-stacked Western Conference. They even beat the Lakers last week. Budenholzer's case as a Coach of the Year contender is also strong owing to the fact that the Bucks have the best record in the NBA and they are also the top scoring team as well as the top rebounding team in the league. 

Photo is from CBS Sports